The influence of product cues on Malaysian consumers intention to purchase Chinese automobiles

The researcher of the present study formulated a model with intrinsic and extrinsic cues along with service cues to examine the purchase intention of Malaysian consumers of Chinese automobiles. For the selection of automobiles, consumers make decisions on the bases of their preferences and personal requirements, and companies are striving to find the factors which affect Malaysian consumers’ decision- making about automobiles. This implies that purchasing goods has become an important activity in an individual’s life and has impacted living standards based on the perception of buyers. Grounded by the theory of reason action, this study proposed a framework linking product cues, attitude towards brand, trust and purchase intentions. A total of 300 questionnaires were returned from the
770 questionnaires that were distributed. The response rate was 38.96%. From the 300 questionnaires returned, a total of 24 questionnaires were rejected due to several reasons such as incomplete answers. Therefore, only 276 (35.84%) questionnaires were coded and analyzed. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted to test the hypotheses
posited in this study. The regression results indicated that (a) there is a positive and significant relationship between product cues and purchase intention, (b) there is a positive and significant relationship between product cues and attitude towards brand, (c) there is a positive and significant relationship between product cues and trust, (d) there is a positive and significant relationship between attitude towards brand and purchase intention, (e) there is a positive and significant relationship between trust and purchase intention, (f) attitude towards brand mediates the relationship between product cues and purchase intention, and (g) trust mediates the relationship between product cues and purchase intention. Theoretical and practical implications of the study as well as suggestions for
future studies are discussed.